Although Dickens denied that anti-Semitism had influenced
his portrait of Fagin, the Jewish thief’s characterization does
seem to owe much to ethnic stereotypes. He is ugly, simpering, miserly,
and avaricious. Constant references to him as “the Jew” seem to
indicate that his negative traits are intimately connected to his
ethnic identity. However, Fagin is more than a statement of ethnic
prejudice. He is a richly drawn, resonant embodiment of terrifying
villainy. At times, he seems like a child’s distorted vision of
pure evil. Fagin is described as a “loathsome reptile” and as having
“fangs such as should have been a dog’s or rat’s.” Other characters
occasionally refer to him as “the old one,” a popular nickname for
the devil. Twice, in Chapter